Master Gracey and Madame Leota

Master George Gracey
Born: October 31, 1890
Died: February 29, 1943

Master Gracey,
Laid To Rest.
No Mourning, Please,
At His Request.
Farewell.


George went to fine schools (Harvard, etc.). Never really knew his father because he was always in boarding schools. Master Gracey moved into Mansion when his father, George Gracey, Sr., was murdered by his mother.

Obsessed with getting to know his father even after death, he thought out the occult. While seeking out mediums at carnivals, he met his wife Lilian, a tight-rope walker. He finally met Madame Leota in New Orleans. Bringing her back to the Mansion, they began holding seances and performing rituals to talk to the dead and summon ghosts. Eventually becoming interested in all aspects of the occult, including ancient religions, Gracey spent his fortune on relics, books, even a mummy complete with a tomb.

Lilian became increasingly jealous of Madame Leota and thought for George to remove her, but George wouldn’t hear of it. His wife’s protests were silenced one day as she fell to her death in a pit of crocodiles while performing her old act for friends at a party.

George became increasingly obsessed with the supernatural and squandered the rest of his fortune in these pursuits. Desperate for money, he married a second cousin, Emily, to lock down more of the family riches. Only 16, she was still playful on their wedding night and they played Hide and Seek.. Alas, Emily his in a trunk in the attic, still in her gown. The lid became locked and she suffocated before being found.

In the last few years of life, it is said Master Gracey went mad and finally hung himself in the attic. Since that day, no one lives here, but Master Gracey’s voice can still be heard.


Madame Leota
Born: October 31, 1881
Died: Unknown

Dear Sweet Leota,
Beloved By All.
In Regions Beyond Now,
But Having A Ball.

 Madame Leota was born in the Louisiana swamps to a kidnapped gypsy and a voodoo priest. Uneducated in everything but the occult, she grew up learning that other people were nothing but cattle and that everyone has weak spots and can be easily influenced. She was a very bitter person and was known to fly into rages at the least provocation. However, even though she had a bad temper, Leota was most dangerous when she was calm and could think things through. She was very sly and the other village people shunned her.

Leota finally moved to New Orleans and began reading palms and holding seances. Although some were exaggerated by special effects, by and large, her powers were genuine. She was bilking many people out of their money, and when she met Master Gracey she saw a real opportunity. She moved into the Mansion and it became easy for her to run the life of Gracey.

His wife Lilian hated Leota. When Lilian tried to get rid of Leota, the Madame hypnotized her into performing her old tight rope act and leaping to her death. Leota then convinced George to marry Emily, for she needed more money, just as he did. But not wanting another woman in his life, Leota locked the trunk that Emily was hiding in.

Leota planned to use the Mansion as a portal to another world, to call in more powerful spirits. George refused to permit her-- in the resulting argument he learned that Leota had killed his wives. George then attempted to flee, but ended up in the attic as his escape routes were cut off since Leota was controlling the servants and spirits. As Leota cast a spell to imprison George in her crystal ball, he hung himself rather than be caught. With his death, the spell went awry and backfired, trapping Leota in her own crystal ball. To this day, Leota still commands some small power, but not as she was before.

(Stories by Ghost Gallery)

Ah! There you are! I've mentioned it before, but I believe it's only fair to remind you...

Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts!

And please do remember...

Hurry back! Hurry back!
Be sure to bring your death certificate.
If you decide to join us,
Make final arrangements now.
We've been dying to have you!

Quicksand and Living Busts

Name: Asa Gilbert, Eddy Foster, Daniel Patterson
Died: November 1, 1942

Asa Gilbert, Eddy Foster, and Daniel Patterson were the Mansion’s handyman, gardener, and liveryman. Little is known about their early years except that each has a past he was trying to hide, or hide from. While they were quite young they all joined the same carnival as roustabouts and soon became fast friends. Each of them developed a crush on Miss Lilian, the tight rope walker, and all but came to blows over her. After that they vowed to never again let a woman disrupt their friendship. Miss Lilian was fond of the young men, and when Master Gracey took her as his bride, she had Gracey hire them as servants.

Gilbert, Foster, and Patterson faithfully performed their "downstairs" duties at the Mansion, while keeping a respectful distance from the odd goings on of the "upstairs". When their beloved Mistress Lilian died in the "accident" they hid their grief and kept to themselves more than ever. They feared that Master Gracey would dismiss them, though he actually valued them almost as family.

Little Leota tried to seduce each of the three men, but they would have nothing to do with her. One stormy night, she sent them down to the river to investigate a noise. Hearing the howls of Hellhound coming from the wrong direction, the trio became disoriented in the dark and stumbled into the quicksand. They climbed onto each other’s shoulders in a futile effort to reach a swaying tree branch. It’s said that the ghosts of the three faithful servants sometimes appear outside the Mansion on misty mornings to lend a hand with repair work, landscaping, or moving stanchion boxes.



Name: Thurl, Ravens, Croft, Singg and Buss
Died: August 24, 1934

Sherman Thurl, Richard Ravens, Robert Croft, Dansen Singg, and Omney Buss were members of the Yale Glee Club at the time Master Gracey was a student. The five friends formed their own singing group which was the most popular entertainment at the social functions. They asked their classmate George to come up with a catchy name for the quintet. He suggested that since their singing was soft and sweet as marshmallows that they should call themselves the Mallow Men.

The ensemble continued to perform for a short time after graduation, but the Mallow Men eventually realized that they had to go their separate ways. Thurl became a radio announcer, Ravens and Croft teamed up as songwriters, while Singg and Buss went into vaudeville.

In 1934 Master Gracey invited his fellow alumni to the Mansion for a reunion. At his suggestion the Mallow Men got back together to revive their old act for the party. And to add to the excitement of the evening, Thurl arranged to broadcast his radio show from the Mansion that evening. The turnout was excellent despite the ominous thunderstorm, and by air time the ballroom was overflowing with cheerful alumni. Singg and Buss put the guests and listeners at ease by poking fun at the spooky atmosphere of the Mansion in their comedy routine. The radio show continued with a drama about two teenagers exploring a haunted house-Thurl’s deep bass voice narrating. Continuing the theme of the show, the Mallow Men performed the a song especially written for the occasion by Ravens and Croft entitled "Grim Grinning Ghosts". For the finale the entire cast sang the refrain "Hurry back, we would like your company". The show ran short, so Thurl, Ravens, Croft, Singg, and Buss stepped up to the mike for an encore. Just then lightening struck the relay antenna on the roof and the Mallow Men were electrocuted.

The five singers were buried in the Mansion’s graveyard. Feeling responsible for his friends’ death, Master Gracey commissioned busts of the Mallow Men to go over their graves. He further directed Eddy Foster, the gardener, to plant a hedge in front of them so they would appear to be on stage, the poplar trees behind them as their backdrop. Three years later, during the final performance of the Jones Family Opera Singers, the head of Thurl’s bust broke off. Asa Gilbert, the handyman, repaired it only for the head to fall off again five years later on the night Little Leota drowned, the three servants died in quicksand, and Master Gracey’s dog Hellhound was struck by lightening. The singer’s bust has remained that way ever since.

(Stories by Ghost Gallery)

The Floating Candelabra and the Tea Party

Prudence
Born: May 1, 1921
Died: April 12, 1936

This is the tale of a poor, unfortunate housemaid, who met her death quite by accident. Prudence was Little Leota’s personal maid. She was neither attractive nor memorable--a person would forget meeting Prudence before he finished saying good-day to her.

Prudence had a rare quality that caused her to blend into her surroundings. This made the task of serving Little Leota even more difficult. Little Leota was not the easiest person to serve, always sending Prudence on wild goose chases. Prudence was doomed to search for lost shoes, misplaced handkerchiefs, and at times, even unidentified noises in the middle of the night.

Such was the case one cold night when Leota called for Prudence. Leota claimed she had heard a noise downstairs and sent Prudence, candle in hand, to investigate. Even though Prudence objected and was visibly frightened, Leota ordered her to investigate. Prudence wandered the halls, the flickering candles her only source of light in the dark house. As she was walking down the long dark hall, one of the doors swung open and slammed against the wall. Poor Prudence was so terrified by this that she collapsed and perished in the hall. She never discovered that it was only Little Leota trying to frighten her. Prudence still haunts the halls, searching for disturbances.

~~~   ~~~   ~~~

The Tea Party
Died: October 31, 1931

In 1931, the Graceys held a Halloween party for all of the town’s most influential citizens. Madame Boufont, taking charge of the arrangements, came up with the idea of a tea party in the graveyard. She sent each invitee a badge with a clever name, such as "Dustin T. Dust" and "I. Emma Spook". Nobody would know anyone’s true identity until the unmasking at midnight.

Halloween day was rainy, but by sunset the sky had cleared and the stars were out. The Mansion’s servants quickly dried the tables, wiped off the tombstones, and lit the candles. Ordinary decorations wouldn’t do, do Mme. Boufont brought out living ones: a pair of owls (with clipped wings), a few stray cats (lured by saucers of cream), Master Gracey’s dog Hellhound, and Aunt Elma’s raven. Master Gracey set up a special display of his Egyptian mummy. A rather ragtag band of costumed musicians, assembled from local tradesmen, arrived just in time.

Soon the guests began to arrive, wearing their name tags as they had been instructed. "Bea Witch" came as a duchess. "Love U Truly" and "I. Truly Dew" dressed as a king and queen. "I. M. Ready" made a convincing Father Time with his ear trumpet. The grandest entrance was made my "M. T. Tomb", who was made up as a corpse. He arrived in a hearse, which got stuck in the mud. The casket slid out, and "M. T." sat up smiling as though he’d planned it that way. The stuck hearse became the centerpiece of the tea party.

The partygoers enjoyed such activities as a tombstone teeter-totter, a swing in a dead tree, and bicycle races on the hill-the only dry ground. Mme. Boufont kept the household members so busy with their hosting duties that they hardly had a chance to taste the tea, but the guests and the thirsty musicians drank pot after pot, remarking on its unusual flavor.

Suddenly, just before midnight, all of the guests and musicians fell ill. The town’s doctors were among the invitees, and they too collapsed. By the time medical help arrived, everyone at the tea party was dead. Due to their fashionably late arrival, the Gracey household had been spared. The well water that had been used to make the tea proved to be contaminated.

The bodies could only be identified by their name tags since Mme. Boufont had kept no record of who was who. As a result, the deceased were entombed under their pseudonyms. The five musicians didn’t have name tags--their tombs were left unmarked. No charges were filed in this case, since all the judges and lawyers were dead.

(Stories by Ghost Gallery)

Let Me Out!

Jamie Padgett
Born: April 1, 1888
Died: November 8, 1936

 
Jamie Louis Padgett was a wealthy plantation owner in New Orleans, renowned for his indigo and sugar cane crops. Because he was of great social prominence, he held many cotillions and balls. At one masquerade ball, he had the misfortune to meet Little Leota, who rarely left the Mansion. She decided she wanted his plantation, so she seduced him and married him. But Jamie loved the plantation and would not transfer the title to her.

One evening Madame Leota introduced him to a "friend" of hers from London. He said his name was Nicholas Crown and that he was interested in starting his own plantation. Jamie was only too happy to share all his knowledge with Crown. As they strolled through the grounds of the Mansion, Crown suddenly insisted he was a vampire. Jamie laughed, and with amazing speed Crown grabbed Jamie and drove his teeth into the poor man’s neck. Jamie woke up the next evening in his room, Little Leota insisted that he had slept through the day. He realized that he must be a vampire and began the disturbing habit of sleeping all day in a coffin, only rising to roam the Mansion by night.

One evening Jamie heard strange music and muffled crying. As he tried to open the coffin lid he found it would not yield. The coffin would not open! He fought and screamed for help, never suspecting that his beloved bride Little Leota had nailed it shut. For seven nights he fought and struggled each evening. He would succeed in cracking the lid almost enough to escape, however by that time it was sunrise. When he would see the light of day through the tiny slit, he would close the lid in mortal fear of the sunlight. Of course, Little Leota would renail the lid shut every afternoon. When his struggles finally died with him, Little Leota claimed the plantation and turned it over to her adulterant partner, Nicholas Crown, who had never been a vampire.
(Story by Ghost Gallery)

The Mysterious Daughter

Little Leota
Born: October 1, 1919
Died: November 1, 1942

Little Leota was Madame Leota’s daughter and the first child born in the Mansion. Madame Leota never revealed the father’s name, but it’s interesting to note that whenever Little Leota spoke... Master Gracey always fell silent.

At a tender age, Little Leota began helping her mother in the seance circle. She soon developed her own talents as a spirit medium. Always playful, she teased or flirted with the seance guests. Many believed that if they failed to heed her taunting call to "Hurry Back", her little joke about a death certificate would come to pass.

Fascinated with death, Little Leota was instrumental in getting the townspeople to hold funerals in the Mansion’s conservatory. However, she was a practical joker, nailing the coffin shut before the viewing or replacing the flowers with dead ones. Her favorite trick was to lock all the guest room doors in the middle of the night and then run down the corridor knocking on them.

Little Leota was given to long and lonely wanderings, especially at night. She could be seen carrying a single candle from window to window or endlessly walking the hallways, candelabra in hand. She loved to stand on the porch and feel the wind in her face.

Quite the tart, Little Leota had affairs with every man that struck her fancy. The only men who resisted her charms were the Mansion’s handyman, gardener, and liveryman, who feared for their jobs should they become involved with her. Incensed at being snubbed, Little Leota plotted against the trio, sending them on a wild goose chase one night. They perished in quicksand, as she watched from a tree. The branch broke, and she fell in the river and drowned. When her body was recovered, it had shriveled to the size of a doll.


Little Leota and the Pirates

Little Leota was the type of person who was easily bored with everyday routine. She could not sit inside and mope about the Mansion like the other family members. She had to be involved in some sort of mischief.

One evening after the servants had left and the Mansion was deathly quiet, Leota climbed out her bedroom window, slid down off the archway, and was away in a flash. she took a horse from the stable and galloped down to the wharf.

A pirate ship had landed earlier in the evening and the crew was enjoying their liberty at a local pub. They were rowdy and crude, singing pirate chanteys and drinking rum. Little Leota joined in with the fun.

The next morning, Leota was strangely silent. Others in the household remarked on her strange behavior. Then a change came over her and she began singing a peculiar song: "Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!" and the hallway echoed with an awful laughter and the sound of water lapping on boards.

Then it was over. She regained her composure, smiled sweetly and greeted the guests for the day.

(Story by Ghost Gallery)

The Second Mistress Gracey

Emily Cavanaugh Gracey
Born: March 17, 1925
Died: November 1, 1941

The second Mistress Gracey, Emily Cavanaugh was born to the very wealthy Cavanaughs of Rhode Island. Being an only child, Emily was destined to inherit the entire family fortune. Much to her parents’ dismay, she was a flighty girl and given to disappearing for hours on end, contemplating flowers or patterns on wallpaper. Much was done by her parents to teach Emily the responsibility of her station, but the girl refused to grasp the gravity of her situation.

When her parents were suddenly killed by a runaway carriage, the entire wealth of the Cavanaugh’s fell on her unprepared shoulders. At the funeral she met Master Gracey, who having recently lost his first wife, was prepared to offer her consolation and guidance. An impressionable girl of 16, she fell in love with the authoritative figure of the Master and his boyish good looks. When he proposed marriage, the unwitting Emily accepted.

The wedding was a beautiful affair and the bride was radiant. The trouble began on the honeymoon at the Gracey Mansion. Madame Leota waited there for the young bride, killing time until she could dispose of the bride. Being young, Emily was still playful and decided to play Hide and Seek with her new groom. So eager was she to begin this honeymoon game that she didn’t even wait to change out of her wedding gown. She found herself in the attic, and hearing George calling her, she quickly hid in a large sea trunk. The trunk was uncomfortable and stuffy, and just as she prepared to come out of hiding, she heard the sound of scraping metal. Madame Leota had seized the opportunity and locked the trunk, the poor young bride suffocated.
After discovering his young bride’s untimely demise, Master Gracey felt the need to announce his continuing dedication to her in order to avoid rumors that he only married her for her money.

Gracey arranged to have the funeral services in the courtyard of the Mansion so that the entire town could be present. With the Gracey household and the town as his audience, only Madame Leota mysteriously failed to attend, Master Gracey stood on the driver’s bench of the hearse buggy and prepared to announce his undying devotion to Emily. He planned to place the ring on his little finger as a reaffirmation of his dedication to Emily and so that she would always be close to him.

Suddenly, before he was able to place the ring on his finger, something spooked the horses and Gracey was thrown from the buggy. As the horses galloped wildly away, a wheel of the buggy rolled over Emily’s wedding band, embedding it in the cobblestone walkway.

Despite his best efforts, Master Gracey was unable to free the ring from its cobblestone grave. . .the ring remains there to this day. The servants were sent to search for the hearse. A few days later the horses and buggy were discovered, but the hearse was empty.

...Emily’s body was never recovered.

(Story from Ghost Gallery)

The First Mistress Gracey

Mistress Lilian O'Malley Gracey
Born: August 3, 1896
Died: June 14, 1937

Mistress Gracey, formerly Lilian O’Malley, was born to wealthy parents who strived to give her everything she wished. She grew up extremely spoiled, but developed a melancholy attitude after being denied her heart’s one true desire. . .her first love. At 15, Lilian had fallen head over heals for a circus performer named Alex. She thought she had won his heart during their brief liaison, but the circus left town in the middle of the night and the jilted Lilian was crushed.

She pined away for a week before deciding to follow the circus. She joined it in Mobile, Alabama, but discovered that her love had been killed in a freak accident involving a lion. Lilian stayed with the circus performing the tight rope act because it made her feel close to her recently departed beloved. It was during one of her shows that George Gracey fell in love with her at first sight. She was quite taken with the young master and agreed to marry him since her true love was now gone forever.

After only 3 months of marriage, George brought Madame Leota into the Gracey household. This combined with the goings on between Leota and George and the disconcerting arrival of Leota’s daughter-a girl of dubious parentage-caused Lilian much concern. She was often neglected by her new husband, and Little Leota and the Madame plagued her with nasty pranks. This caused Lilian to slip further and further away from reality and into a deep melancholy. One night at a small party Madame Leota urged Lilian to perform her old act over the river by the house. Wanting the attention and delighted to be wanted, Lilian agreed. To her dismay the rope began to unravel when she was only half way across. Poor Lilian fell to her death in the jaws of an alligator.

(Story from Ghost Gallery)